Musings of an oft-bemused former laboratory postdoc

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Gover

This afternoon, I heard Michael Gove being interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s The World at One, which finished off with him justifying his vanity contribution to the ‘Big Society’ – the provision of a copy of The King James Bible to every state school in the country. After earnestly trying to convince that the millionaire donors who had rescued the project, temporarily scuppered by the pulling of the taxpayer plug, were not all Tories (Oh, right! I feel so much better now; I mean why should all those poor Tory millionaires get all the flak for their agenda-less philanthropy?), he then invoked ‘arch-atheist’ Richard Dawkins’s article from last weekend.

Nicely done, Mr Gove. Yer disingenuous twot. Yes Dawkins, likewise, wants all our children to read the thing; but not just for its literary worth and historical national significance. He argues on the grounds that if – if – children actually read it, they might familiarise themselves to a degree sufficient to realise also what a morally scabrous document it is.

I would have expected that pretty much every school would already hold a copy (at least), wouldn’t they? But not with Gove’s embossed imprimatur. Which he didn’t know about until after binding, he says. Wonder how much you’d get for one on eBay?

Thinks: if taxpayer’s money is considered improperly expended on marking anniversaries of traditional significance in these austere times, then, additional to the economically detrimental affects of an extra bank holiday, how much are we coughing up for the BBC-led salivating homage to QE II, who has actually been around a lot less then the King James and is arguably far less important? However, Gove apparently sees all this as right and proper.

Gover

This afternoon, I heard Michael Gove being interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s The World at One, which finished off with him justifying his vanity contribution to the ‘Big Society’ – the provision of a copy of The King James Bible to every state school in the country. After earnestly trying to convince that the millionaire donors who had rescued the project, temporarily scuppered by the pulling of the taxpayer plug, were not all Tories (Oh, right! I feel so much better now; I mean why should all those poor Tory millionaires get all the flak for their agenda-less philanthropy?), he then invoked ‘arch-atheist’ Richard Dawkins’s article last weekend, in support.

Nicely done, Mr Gove. Yer disingenuous twot. Yes Dawkins, likewise, wants all our children to read the thing; but not just for its literary worth and historical national significance. He argues on the grounds that if – if – children actually read it, they might familiarise themselves to a degree sufficient to realise also what a morally scabrous document it is.

I would have expected that pretty much every school would already hold a copy (at least), wouldn’t they? But not with Gove’s embossed imprimatur. Which he didn’t know about until after binding, he says. Wonder how much you’d get for one on eBay?

Thinks: if taxpayer’s money is considered improperly expended on marking anniversaries of traditional significance in these austere times, then, additional to the economically detrimental affects of an extra bank holiday, how much are we coughing up for the BBC-led salivating homage to QE II, who has actually been around a lot less then the King James and is arguably far less important? However, Gove apparently sees all this as right and proper.